Musk raises $6 billion for xAI to challenge OpenAI

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI raised $6 billion from a group of investors to fund the expansion of the technology.

The company said on its website Sunday that the “Series B funding” is going to go toward bringing the company’s first products to the market, building infrastructure and research for future technologies.

“xAI will continue on this steep trajectory of progress over the coming months, with multiple exciting technology updates and products soon to be announced,” the company wrote.

Investors in this round of funding include Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding among others.

Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns that was formerly known as Twitter, that interested potential employees should join the company if “you believe in our mission of understanding the universe, which requires maximally rigorous pursuit of the truth, without regard to popularity or political correctness.”

The funding from the investors will likely help Musk compete with other companies as they race to build artificial intelligence alongside companies including Microsoft and OpenAI, which created the popular ChatGPT platform.

Musk announced in July that he would be creating the artificial intelligence company with the goal of understanding the “true nature of the universe.”

While Musk continues his work in the race toward artificial intelligence, he was a leading voice of caution around the emerging technology.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said in July that he considers Musk to be the most prominent person associated with “the AI pausers,” or those who are concerned about the risk it will play on humanity.

In March, Musk said xAI’s chatbot “Grok” will be available to all users who are premium subscribers on X.

The company said in its announcement Sunday that its model capabilities have “improved rapidly” and new versions of Grok have “opened doors for advancements.”